A/N: I struggled with this one. I'm posting though so I can move the story along XD I hope y'all enjoy it!

Yugi

"I'm glad you were free today." I cheerfully quip.

Ryou chuckles happily and together we take a seat on my couch.

Or rather try to. Atem is still clinging to my side and he swiftly sits where I was about to purely so he could pull me onto his lap. I give him an incredulous look, silently asking him if he's really going to be acting this way, but he just flashes a cheeky grin at me as if daring me to make a deal of it.

I shake my head and relax, shifting until I'm comfortable in his lap.

"Anyway." I turn my attention back to Ryou. He's made himself comfortable against the arm rest, his knees pulled up and his hot chocolate warming his hands infront of him.

He smiles happily at us and for a brief moment I scrutinise it. I dislike how easily jealous or guarded I've been lately. Especially when it comes to anyone even glancing at Atem. Especially my best friend. But when his smile brightens and his eyes soften in that lovely friendly manner I admire I feel myself relaxing. Any attraction Ryou might feel is purely because of Atem. He won't touch him so long as I'm here between them.

"I'm always happy to visit." He says happily.

"How have you and Marik been?" I ask conversationally.

He quickly swallows and extends to put his mug down. "Good!" He says. "You and everything going on is still the hot topic of the household. But apart from that everything is fine."

It's the way he says he's fine that tells me he's not. I know him too well. But he won't talk about it right now. Not with Atem so close. I know that Atem is currently more preoccupied with holding me than our conversation but even I feel the topics we can safely talk about in his presence is limited. Not for my sake but for Ryou's.

When I asked him over I didn't think about how clingy Atem would be. I thought he'd give us some space to catch up or brood just outside but it seems he might be just as wary when I have guests over too.

"How have you two been? Amar hasn't shown up or anything since I assume." Ryou adds. I glance at Atem but he seems more interested in nuzzling my arm.

"We've been fine. Though even without her lingering presence I've had to take the last few days off. Not sure how much more sick leave I can use." I mumble worriedly.

"I keep telling you you needn't worry about money." Atem purrs quietly.

"I keep telling you I don't want you to seduce my landlord." I quip back. "Or pay my rent, or get me fired."

Ryou laughs into his hand and I roll my eyes at my cheeky boyfriend.

"Get you fired?"

"Should I tell him how problematic having a near constantly aroused demon for a boyfriend is?" I ask Atem and he laughs and hides his face in my back.

"Oh no." Ryou laughs. "Sounds awful.

"You know I didn't know having a boyfriend could be so disruptive. Why didn't you tell me?" I ask Ryou in jest. Atem squeezes me tightly but I feel his emotions are light. He knows I'm joking.

"Probably because the disruption is well worth it." Ryou shrugs casually.

"Yeah you're right." I sigh happily and lean back into Atem to nuzzle him affectionately.

"It's really nice seeing you like this." Ryou muses quietly. I look at him curiously as my cheeks warm from the way he's looking at us. I have to admit this is really nice. Ryou's known me my whole life. He's been my biggest supporter, my ultimate wingman and my most trusted confidant. He's seen me at my lowest and encouraged me to keep searching. Now I've finally found someone I can be happy with… it must be a big relief for him too.

My light.

I glance at Atem curiously and the warmth in my cheeks deepen under his loving gaze. I shall leave you two to catch up. I will not be far should you need me.

"Where are you going?" I ask him. I wanted some time with Ryou but he doesn't have to leave now, or at all… "It's not safe out there."

I would like to check on my territories. You are safe here and I sense there is much you and your friend want to discuss. I shall be back in a few hours. Do not fret.

"What if you get into trouble?" I ask, getting up with him. His hands squeeze my arms and he pulls me close to kiss the top of my head.

"I shall be fine. I promise." He whispers softly.

"Woah!" I hear Ryou gasp behind me and when I open my eyes I see why. Atem's black and beautifully glossy wings are unfurling behind him. His horns are like a rich white crown tipped in black and his gorgeous eyes are burning brightly.

God I am so proud he is my boyfriend. He's such a specimen.

He smiles at us and looks around me to tilt his head at Ryou. "Don't do anything with him I wouldn't do."

"There's nothing you wouldn't do with me." I say slyly and he gives me a quick little wink before turning on his heel to leave. He makes a show outside with his wings. Fluttering them seductively as he throws me a sexy little glance over his shoulder. I laugh at him though because I know it's all for show. He won't dare fly in the middle of the day and he can't slip into shadow either. He'll teleport. This is just him purely showing off.

A shake my head and in the next moment he disappears into a puff of black cloud. I feel him still and it's a very surreal sensation. He's somewhere in the city, safe thankfully. He and I haven't been apart for some time now. Since Amar's random close encounter he's been by my side and I haven't been able to leave the house. This isn't just his doing though, not even Tea has wanted me to leave the house. But in those few days I've been … feeling things. Sensations. One of them being the acute awareness of the spells and sigils protecting my house. Sensing his rough location must be another new feeling…

"He's pretty incredible." Ryou breathes happily, bringing me back to reality.

He's sipping on his drink again, unaware of how much I'm feeling the air around him.

That's another strange sensation I'm getting used to. I can feel and judge what other humans near me are feeling. Specifically if I pass someone in the hall or my neighbours if they're close enough. Ryou's literally here with me right now and I can feel he's… aroused… but trying very hard to keep himself under control. It's… an uncomfortable feeling to know your best friend is aroused by your boyfriend but I know he can't help it. With Atem gone now too he should settle down.

With Atem gone now too he poses no threat and I can encourage myself to relax.

"He is." I sigh happily, sitting back down and bringing my knee around comfortably so my feet are hanging off the edge.

"I've never seen you this happy." He says.

"I've never been this happy." I laugh. That's true too. "It's kinda strange."

"What, being happy?" He laughs loudly and I join him.

"No. Just that a few months ago I didn't even know he existed. I've technically been with him only a few weeks. I met him just under two months ago and now it's like… I can't even remember what my life was like without him."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes I look at Marik and I wonder what my life would be like if I had never met him. If that day I saw you with him, if I just hadn't." He says quietly in thought and I smile warmly at him. Their love is one of my favourites that has ever happened around me. There wasn't anything magical in the way they were brought together but seeing Ryou so happy and feeling so warm in their presence, watching their chemistry - it's been one of my favourite things in the world. Something that's always brought me peace.

He frowns then. "I'm trying to remember what Tea said to me the other day. That what I have with Marik is real. I know it is. I truly do. But I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough. Maybe Cupids don't force love on others, but if it wasn't for you then I might not have ever met him. I might be single, I might be with someone else… I don't know. I don't care. This is the best possibility that could have happened and it's because of you. I'll never stop thanking you."

"You don't have to -"

"I know, but even so."

I smile warmly, feeling humbled and the extent of his gratitude is clear to me. I can feel how warm his heart is even just thinking about Marik. "You're welcome."

"So it makes me even happier to know that finally, after years of searching, you finally found that 1 in

7 billion." We finish together, sharing a hearty little chuckle.

He's right. It doesn't bother me how little I've known him for because I know with all my heart that he's all I ever wanted. He is the peace to my unrest and the home in which my heart belongs. He's everything to me. My 1 in so many more billions than I thought possible.

"So…" Ryou says quickly, sitting up with enthusiasm that makes me excited. "We haven't had the chance to talk about him. Not really. You went from single to 'there was this hot stranger' to 'going on a second date' to regrettably nothing and then straight to 'he's my boyfriend, he's everything omg Ryou why didn't you tell me it could be this amazing!'"

I laugh at the high pitched mocking tone he puts on and the extravagant flailing of his limbs and the dramatic way he acts. He's right though. I haven't had the chance to really gush yet.

"He's incredible Ryou. He's a 5000 year old Incubus who's had a really hard life, but he's impossibly sweet and thoughtful and adventurous and spontaneous and rebellious and he's funny, he's smart, he's clever. He's very sensitive, very stubborn, very dramatic."

"Yeah I remember the flower carts." He laughs and I giggle too.

"I have to get rid of them at some point but I kind of don't want to." I say, rubbing the back of my neck as I look over to the one in the corner of the room, now mostly empty with only a few dying flowers left in them.

Ryou waves his hand in the air. "Eh just keep them."

"I should at least replace the flowers." I say idly.

"Get your boyfriend to." Ryou winks at me and I am glad Atem isn't here to hear that. He would. Right now.

"Anyway." I continue. "Dating a demon is pretty weird though. I mean dating anyone is weird but like… humans don't like… have wings and can't turn on or off the TV with their minds… they don't zoomies."

"Zoomies?!" Ryou bursts into laughter and his mirth is infectious.

"Yes. Literally. He turns into like a black cloud and just races around the house when he's restless."

"Oh my god. Glad Marik doesn't do that."

"Yeah."

"So…" He feels shy … oh boy. "I'm assuming then that you and he are … like… you know. You've um …"

"Yes." I say quickly. Not excited. Just quick. I know what he's getting at and normally yeah I'd be more than thrilled to tell him that finally after all these years I'm no longer a virgin. I'm part of the no virgin club. But it feels so awkward too. Because I can feel how curious he is and I don't want him imagining what sex with my boyfriend might be like.

"Great. I mean… grats mate. I'm so proud of you."

"Why?" I ask awkwardly.

"Because you went from someone who just wanted someone to hold your hand to … well, I'm proud of you is all. I'm happy for you."

Hmmm. I do feel his sincerity there and he's absolutely right. I've come a long way.

Oh, he feels troubled now. Something has crossed his mind that has him frowning and softly he sighs and relaxes back again. "Can I … be real for a moment?"

"Yeah, of course." I face him completely to give him my full attention. This might be just the reason I asked him here today.

"I'll be honest… I am so happy for you. But fuck do you know how to pick them."

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously.

"Well… he's a demon. He's not human. And Amar like… she's a demon too. A scary one. A lethal one. Like she's nothing like Atem. Atem's kind and protective. Apart from some of his looks he doesn't strike me as a demon at all. But it's because of him that you're locked up here. It's because of him Amar is around. It's because of that that we're all on high alert. I mean… couldn't have fallen in love with a librarian huh?" He laughs at the end there but it's hollow and nervous. I understand why. What he's saying could be rude, it could anger me, it could be offensive and if Atem were here it'd make him feel even more responsible than he already does.

But I understand where he's coming from. I don't hold Atem responsible but I see clearly how his relation to Amar makes him somewhat responsible.

"I understand what you mean but for the record what's going on isn't Atem's fault. He didn't even know Amar existed."

"Oh I know, I'm not blaming him." He says quickly, waving his hands in apology. "It's just… naturally your first boyfriend is supernatural, you know?"

I laugh and he relaxes. "I know. To be fair it turns out I'm supernatural too."

"That's another thing. You're an angel? Like I've seen Tea do her thing now but um… no offence man but you seem pretty human to me."

I smile sadly and softly sigh, looking away somewhere unimportant. "When he first told me I didn't want to believe it. I denied it. It made me mad to keep hearing him say things that suggested I was anything but human. But I'm not so unconvinced now…"

"Yeah? Why?"

I take a moment, slowly gathering bits and pieces that I still haven't made all that much sense of, and pretending they are stray strands on my jeans as I pick at them. "There's small things. Things that are kind of hard to explain. Things that if I hadn't experienced them then I wouldn't be so sure it was real. I stopped time once."

He blinks and raises his brows at me in disbelief. "I'm sorry?"

"It was once. Angels can create like a small pocket around them where time stops. I did that by accident. I don't know how yet. Tea said she'd teach me when Atem's mating cycle has finished."

"Mating?!" He shrieks in astonishment.

I should have known he'd choke on that. "Yes… a few days left I think."

"What's a mating cycle?" He asks morbidly curious.

I simply frown at him. "Kind of … like a … menstrual cycle I guess… sort of… not really… it's private. Anyway. There are obvious things like that and then there are more subtle things like… feeling the energy around me. I can feel the charms on my apartment working. I can feel your gutter brain working a mile a minute at the mention of mating… I can feel there are exactly 8 human souls on this floor alone. If I concentrate I can see your soul… and then there's feeding. Cupids feed off the love of others much like Atem feeds off the sexual pleasure of others. I never noticed it before but I can feel it more and more everyday. Everyday there's something more to feel and be aware of, something more in the air, something more about me I can't quite name. It's just… it's hard to explain but a few weeks ago I would have completely denied being anything but human and now, especially since Amar's attack I feel that I am not human."

"I see." He says quietly. I feel he's trying to understand. He really is. But it's hard when I myself can't even fully comprehend it all. Still, he's listening and that means a lot to me.

"You can see my soul?" He asks curiously and it makes me laugh.

"If I want to."

"Not going to lie but that feels kind of weird."

I laugh again because I understand how exposing that must feel. "Don't worry I'm not looking."

"Good because it's my soul. I love you but I don't even know if I'd show you an Xray of my skeleton."

I laugh at that too and I can feel him relaxing.

I miss the old days though in a way. I love Atem. I really do. But life was a little simpler before him too. If I could have him and the life I had before when it was just routine every day - I wonder if I'd choose it.

"So then… can I ask." Ryou brings me back and I force my next smile as I wait patiently. His voice is lower, concerned as he ponders his next words. "How do you feel about all of this? I mean… all of it? Doesn't it scare you? Are you okay with Atem being a demon and Tea and yourself not being human?"

Just the thing I was wondering.

"That's not an easy question to answer." I sigh quietly, leaning back heavily to stare up at the ceiling. Ryou cannot see them - but I can. The burn in space where magic splits the air. The divide between friend and foreign. Those intricate shapes invisibly carved into the universe to prevent one from passing beyond. That is what is protecting my home those that would seek to harm it.

But am I safer now than I was? I suppose technically yes - but were I to have never met Atem and instead continued to live my life as no more than human searching for a love that may never meant to have been his - would I be safer still?

I wouldn't be happy. I know that much. Atem has without a doubt been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I smiled then, I knew happiness, I knew trust and fulfillment - but I did not know love. And I know now what that means for a cupid. I feel love much differently to any human. Even if I remained ignorant to what I am I never would have realised that the way I feel love is different. Without it I would eventually die. I would starve and never understand why.

Which means he is not only the love of my life but he is my hero too. My saviour. My love. I was born for him and he has lived for so long for me.

Does that mean that I am okay with all of this? Life sure was more simple back when all it consisted of was wake up, go to work, go on a date and rinse and repeat. It was fine when that was all I knew. But now that I've tasted the fruit that is love, how could I ever wish for anything else?

"Yugi?"

I smile at Ryou reassuringly and while he was not privy to a single word in my mind, I can tell by his own smile that he understands.

"Yeah. I think I am okay with it. It's a lot to take in, definitely and there's still much I don't know. But Atem is worth all the uncertainty and fear that comes with facing the unknown."

I feel his warmth stirring and it's very relaxing.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." He says softly.

I miss Atem. He said he was going to go check on his territories but I don't know what that means or how long he'll be. I hope he comes back soon. But while he's gone.

"Actually I wanted to ask you the same thing. How are you doing? Really. Amar must have left her impression on you and half the people you've known since childhood not being human must be a shock." I sit up again to face him and he lets out a long sigh.

"Well it's not exactly easy to envision I'll tell you that much." He runs a hand through his hair as he thinks. "I'm either fine with it or I'm repressing. Either way, it's… it's weird. On the one hand, straight off the bat, it doesn't bother me. Until I dig deeper."

I nod quietly in agreement. That makes sense to me and soon he's continuing.

"I remember her voice scratching in my ears like nails on a chalkboard. It would be beautiful were it not laced with an overwhelming desire for pain and anger. I see glimpses of a dark place where the rivers are red and screams fill the air and iron fills my nostrils. I feel her heartache, the echo and driving force of her anger and waking up after being inside her mind makes me difficult to deal with in the mornings when I don't realise where I am, or who I am."

He pauses and I can tell he is not done yet. By far. I hold my tongue for his sake - but it infuriates me to hear how deeply she has hurt him.

"Marik has been so patient with me, so kind and understanding and warm. I've not been the best if I'm honest. Sometimes I'll wake screaming and shaking and so afraid because I'm convinced I killed you. It takes some time but he holds me through it and reassures me that you are safe. But I can hear you screaming, begging for life and I can see you reaching for me just as I was reaching for you and trying so hard to stop her. A few of those times I've pushed him away and collapsed right before the door, your number on my screen but I am so afraid to push dial, so afraid to run here and check because if you should not answer… if you should answer your door and see me… if you don't answer your door…"

My heart goes out to him and I am compelled to sit closer to him and pull him to me. He falls easily into my arms and I just hold him and let him listen to the sound of my breathing, to the sound of my heart beating and I wrap my arms around him safely so he might feel my warmth.

"I'm safe, Ryou. I'm alive and right here."

He nods but it breaks my heart to hear him sob and sniff. His voice has taken on a thick edge to it now, one choked and weak. "I'm so sorry. She could have killed you and it would have been by my hand -"

"Hush, it's okay. She didn't and it wasn't you in control. I am fine. I'm not hurt at all, not even the tiniest bit and I do not blame you in the slightest."

He nods and I feel his arms curl around my waist tightly. He sinks slowly into my lap and I let him bury his face as he cries softly. This is a … strange… position for him to be in but he needs this. So I pet his hair and just let him let this out.

I can't imagine how it must feel to have watched all of that happen. I remember him as Amar controlled his body, his voice. I knew it wasn't my bestfriend but I would be lying if it did not concern me that she used his image to torment me. But that pails in comparison to actually being him in the passenger seat while his body tried to kill me. Not being able to stop her. To only watch and listen as she tortured me right over there.

That must be so hard to come to terms with. But he will. Ryou has overcome so much in his life. Moving here with me wasn't easy but we did it together. And together we will get through this too.

"Hey. Listen. I know this is hard. I can only imagine the pain you are feeling." I say quietly. His sobs slow and he takes a few shuddering breaths as he listens to my voice. "I can't take away the fear and pain you are feeling but I want you to know that for whatever you need I will be here for you, as I've always been. I always will be. You're like my brother. Nothing will ever change that. We've been through so much together and no demon, angel or otherwise is going to stop us from coming out on top."

He nods slowly and after a short moment he lifts himself up to wipe his face and try to stop the tears that refuse to relent. "Thank you." He says with a frustrated smile as he stares up at the ceiling. His face is red, his eyes puffy and he fans himself rapidly as if that will help.

But I have a better idea.

"Go splash your face and come back. Play a game with me." I say energetically, slapping his knee as I get up.

"Now?" He laughs.

"Yes now. Unless you want to keep crying a bit longer."

He laughs again and shaking his head he gets up and disappears down the hall.

I'm sure he'll be okay. It'll take some time and no short amount of patience from everyone. But he'll come out of this. He's brave, strong and he's got us to help him through it.

And maybe Atem is right. Amar is dangerous. I always knew that. But seeing what she's done to Ryou… maybe there is no forgiveness for her. She isn't like Atem… maybe she can't or shouldn't be reasoned with.

Whatever happens, we'll come out on top. We have to.

I will not lose anyone I love to her. They are mine… and I will not let her hurt them.